Crohn’s Disease Clinical Research Study Underway at New York Hospital Queens for Patients Who Have Not Responded to Available Treatments

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:Allison Fleming
alf9034@nyp.org
(718) 670-2374
Crohn’s Disease Clinical Research Study Underway at New
York Hospital Queens
for Patients Who Have Not Responded to Available Treatments

Investigational Drug Being
Studied for Patients with Active Disease

FLUSHING, N.Y., August 26, 2013 – New York Hospital
Queens (NYHQ) is seeking individuals to take part in a Phase 2 clinical
research study of adults with active Crohn’s disease, a chronic
gastrointestinal disease with no cure. The OPERA study will evaluate the
safety and tolerability of an investigational drug and its effect on the
symptoms of Crohn’s disease, particularly those related to inflammation
of the gastrointestinal tract.

Crohn’s disease can affect individuals at any age. The disease
alternates between periods without symptoms and “flares,” which is when
the disease is active. People with active Crohn’s disease experience a
range of symptoms caused by inflammation of the intestines, including
painful abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding, which at times
can be severe.

Individuals may be eligible to enroll in the study if they are between
18 and 75 years old, and have active Crohn’s disease. Individuals are
unable to participate if they are pregnant or breast-feeding, have short
bowel syndrome due to multiple small bowel resections, or if a stoma is
present.

“We are pleased to be part of this important clinical research study
that may help treat Crohn’s disease patients who have failed to respond
to a widely-used class of intravenous therapies,” said Moshe Rubin,
M.D., principal investigator and director, Division of Gastroenterology
at NYHQ. “We are dedicated to clinical research that could potentially
improve understanding of digestive diseases like Crohn’s disease,
particularly for patients from the ethnically diverse population of
Queens.”

The cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, but it has been linked to
abnormal immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract. In general,
treatments for Crohn’s disease work by reducing intestinal inflammation.
Patients who do not respond to oral medications are often treated with
regular injections of medications called anti-TNF, which reduce
intestinal inflammation and control symptoms in many patients with
moderate to severe active Crohn’s disease who do not respond to other
treatments.

Clinical research studies are crucial to developing new medications. A
major pharmaceutical company is sponsoring this clinical research study,
and participation will allow the study sponsor to evaluate an
investigational drug that may benefit others with Crohn’s disease in the
future.

New York Hospital Queens is a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian
Healthcare System and is affiliated with Weill Medical College of
Cornell University. For more information on New York Hospital Queens,
visit www.nyhq.org.